Tuesday, June 10, 2003

SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED UPDATE

Michael Dorn is providing the voice of Kraven the Hunter for MTV's upcoming Spider-Man animated series,

The series is being targeted to start on Friday, July 11 at 10 p.m.

Dorn is best known as Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but has an extensive voiceover background. Among his animated roles are Steel and Kalibak in Superman, Gorgon in Fantastic Four and Coldstone in Gargoyles.

Other roles in Spider-Man include Rob Zombie as Lizard, Virginia Madsen as Silver Sable and Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin.

Look for more on Spider-Man soon here in The Continuum.

HULK MOVIE UPDATE

Stars of The Hulk will be appearing on NBC talk shows before and after the June 20 release of the film.

Eric Bana, who plays Bruce Banner, will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday, June 17. Josh Lucas, who plays Glen Talbot, will be a guest on Tuesday, June 24.

Bana will appear on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, June 19. Jennifer Connelly, who plays Betty Ross, will appear on Tuesday, June 24.

Look for more Hulk news soon here in The Continuum, and for 120 new stills from the movie, CLICK HERE.

MICHAEL TURNER SUES TOP COW

Aspen Entertainment has issued a press release, detailing Michael Turner's federal lawsuit against Top Cow Productions Inc. The complaint seeks "to recover damages arising from the infringement of Turner's trademark 'Fathom,' to enjoin Top Cow's future infringement of such trademark and to recover monies owed to Turner under his contract with Top Cow."

NEW SCION CREATORS

CrossGen Entertainment on Tuesday announced writer Ian Edginton and penciler Luke Ross as the new creative team on Scion.

The pair begin with Scion #40 in September, a Key Issue that opens a fresh chapter on the dangerous techno-medieval world of Avalon.

"Swords, sorcery and science fiction! Come on, how could I pass this up?" said Edginton, who, as previously announced, is also joining Sojourn as
ongoing writer. "Scion is steeped in mythic overtones which I love. The
warring houses, the youngest prince who makes good, the love of his life who
is the sister of his enemy...it encompasses everything from Shakespeare to
Wagner to Star Wars!

"The thing that clinched it for me was just a single panel showing a warrior
riding a flying dragon with computer controls built into the saddle and a
free-floating heads-up display in front of him. It was so cool. And now I want to move things one step further. Broaden the
canvas. After all, how do two conflicted realms act when they're faced by a
massive mutual threat? Is my enemy's enemy my friend...or still my enemy?"

"Scion mixes science fiction and medieval culture, two subjects I've always
been fond of," Ross said. "I'm deeply grateful to be joining the team behind one of CrossGen's premiere titles. I also admire the wonderful work
of inker John Dell and colorist Jason Keith, and I'm sure that we'll create
lots of wild visuals in Scion.

"Joining CrossGen gives me the opportunity to have closer communication with the team ultimately responsible for the book, which is an opportunity I've craved since I started working in comics. I love the pleasant attitude inside CrossGen Studios. Especially for someone who's used to working alone at home, it's very exciting to be in a place where everyone talks the same 'comic book' language!"

Scion #39, on sale Aug. 20, will be the final issue by the original creative team of writer Ron Marz and penciler Jim Cheung. As a special farewell to their fans, this issue will offer a revealing tour of Avalon with all double-page spreads, presented in the classic Prince Valiant comic-strip style.

"The Hedge Knight is a beautiful, epic story," said Les Dabel. "We felt
that it deserved the best possible covers from the top names in fantasy
art."

The first issue of The Hedge Knight, which will hit comic book stores
during the first week of August, features a variant cover
by Michael Kaluta as he portrays the main character, Ser Duncan the Tall,
watching a puppet show. A second variant cover featuring a
painting by the Hildrebrant Brothers will also be available through Image's retailer incentive program and will be printed on a higher quality cover stock (and will retail for a higher price).

"Every one of these covers is incredible," Dabel said. "But the best part is that The Hedge Knight is one of those books that looks as great on the inside as it does on the outside."

The pencils and art direction of the book, which has been in development over the last year, have been under the care of artist Mike S. Miller.

"When you're dealing with an adaptation of a writer the caliber of
George R. R. Martin, you've really got to put the best possible effort
into it or you're going to let the fans down," said Miller. "And that's
the problem with a lot of adaptations out there and the reason that
they don't do as well as they should. It's the fans who are going to
make or break this book, though, and we've worked hard to produce a
series that's going to be a fantasy reader's dream come true."

FIRST LOOK: DEATHMASK #3

Deathmask #3 will be available this week from Future Comics. The issue is written by David Michelinie, co-plotted by Bob Layton, drawn by Dick Giordano and inked by Pat Broderick, with a cover by Giordano and Layton.

FIRST LOOK: SOJOURN #24

Sojourn #24 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from CrossGen Entertainment. The issue is written by Ron Marz, penciled by Greg Land, inked by Jay Leisten and colored by Justin Ponsor.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"Finding the Third Fragment is the least of Arywnís worries as she winds up caught between the mysterious nomads of the desert and Bohrís brutal trolls. Will the thief that Arwyn hasnít trusted from the beginning turn out to be her only hope of survival, or a deadly turncoat?"

Sojourn #24 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY

Work is under way on a fourth season of the Static Shock animated series at Warner Bros. Animation. A representative of Kids' WB! -- where the show currently airs -- said that an announcement on the show has not been made yet.